Heritage Month

Arkansas enjoys a vast wealth of natural and cultural resources. Its physical beauty, musical influence, folk arts, fine arts,
social and political history all make for a colorful and unique heritage worth celebrating. The Department of Arkansas Heritage sets aside
the month of May each year as a time to recognize and appreciate Arkansas's cultural and natural heritage. This annual tradition got it's start
in 1982 as Arkansas Heritage Week. It was expanded to include a full month of activities, including community heritage festivals, workshops,
tours and more. Each year a theme is chosen for Arkansas Heritage Month that provides an opportunity to learn about some aspect of our state.

There are many ways to participate in Arkansas Heritage Month. A Heritage Month event might be a nature walk, research project, pictorial display,
museum exhibit, festival or concert. To make it easier for more communities and organizations to showcase their heritage, grants were made
available to help develop events and programs. We also invite all communities and organizations participate in Heritage Month Events.
The Department of Arkansas Heritage helps promote all Heritage Month events on the web site, in the Storyline newsletter and in Heritage Month marketing efforts.

2015 Heritage Month

Heritage Month 2015 Theme: “From the Delta to the Hills: Different Landscapes, a Common Heritage"

Arkansas is blessed with a wide variety of landscapes and land forms – from the Delta with its rivers and bayous to hills and mountains with their
lakes and streams. From plains to prairies to hardwood forests, Arkansas has it all. And those different landscapes have influenced how people
live and what they do. The rich soil of the Delta has meant that, over the years, that region of the state and its rich farmland has supported
everything from the sharecropper to the industrial farm that supplies the world. Other regions of the state are products of their environment
as well, but whether you’re from north, south, east or west, we are all Arkansans and share that common heritage.For a Heritage Month event,
think about what makes your area special. It could be what the environment has to offer or what sorts of customs may be particular to your
region. Plan an event highlighting or celebrating the special contributions your town or city makes to the overall Arkansas experience. Plan
a tour of a particular feature that only occurs in your part of the state. Whatever you choose to present, plan an event that will honor your
town and its people. Create something that will make others want to come and learn more about your region’s way of life.